Oil leaks can come from many places. The most common are the Valve Cover Gaskets, around the Oil Pan and the Rear Main Seal of the engine. You might also want to check that your oil filter is not on crooked. Sometimes this can happen when you go to a Jiffy Lube or quick oil change service place. Even just a little crooked can result in a leak.

If you cannot follow a leak to it's source, then it is likely that your car being a 1991 is just getting old and burning more oil. You can help extend your cars life by giving it a thorough tune up and making sure to take extra good car of it. You can also start putting a thicker grade of oil in it, such as 50 weight instead of 20 or 30 weight (which are the most common).

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If there is oil in water, then there may be a head gasket leak. However, half a quart of oil loss every 15,000 mi. is not bad. If van runs perfectly, then I wouldn't worry too much about it. Maybe try some Bar's Leaks Head Gasket Repair for $30 or so to fix the slow leak in the coolant system.

Though I am not familiar with the 2007 model, on the e46s, I know that the low oil light comes on when you are down only about 1/2 quart. Does your model have a dip stick?
A half quart in 3000 miles is not cause for concern. Most of them burn a bit less than that, at least during the first 200k miles, but some burn more. It depends to some extent what kind of oil you are using. It will burn more Mobile1 than it will Castrol Syntec, for example.
I have an '04 330 that uses about a half quart in 7k miles between oil changes, and an '04 325 that goes through a quart every thousand miles. I am only a little concerned about the 325. I would not be at all concerned about a half quart in 3k miles.

A good engine shouldn't burn more than a quart every 1000 mi. So, 400 mi. is kind of bad as far as engines go. Probably the oil is blowing by the rings and/or there is a seal leak somewhere. The oil has got to go somewhere whether it leaks out or burns in the combustion chamber.

My 1993 voyager is like that. It may burn some , it definitely leaks some , and it could be just sending some through the PCV valve. Oil leaks and burning oil causes pollution . If you can fix it with a new seal or a valve cover gasket it is easier than constantly checking your oil. Temperature, trailering, speed, outdoor temperature, and engine RPM all can be factors if you are losing oil. If your engine is a quart down, the engine oil consumption rate doubles or triples. In other words the lower the oil level the faster it disappears. High mile cars will drive for years as long as you add oil when it is needed (keep the oil level between the marks). Fix any obvious leaks. Then determine your oil change interval (3000 miles, 4000 miles, 5000 miles). I change between 4000 and 5000 miles. If i am a quart low at 3500 I add a quart. If I am a quart low at 4500 miles I just change the oil in the car. A good practice is to carry a quart of oil in your vehicle just in case you need it. It is far cheaper to add a quart when needed than to go to the dealer once to maybe fix a problem that they may not be able to find or fix. Older engines (even some newer ones) just use oil , especially in hotter climates. Fix the obvious and carry a quart.

if it is not leaking then it is being burned by the engine, how many miles go by before you need to add oil?, if u are adding more than one quart every 1000 miles u have piston reing problems and or valve guide seal leaks. U won't see any smoke in most cases unless you are really going through the oil, like 1 quart every 300 miles.

Add enough oil to get the stick reading back to the full line. Oil can't disappear...so either you are burning it or leaking . If you used more than two quarts in 400 miles, if it's burning it it definitely should be fouling plugs and smoking. If leaking, there has to be wet oil under the engine somewhere. Check everything over again to verify either condition.

My 2001 was having the same issue. I replaced the PCV valve and it fixed the problem. Total Cost 5.00. It is easily accesable but you may have difficulty finding it. It is located Left Rear Top of engine (Passenger side). Its brass and it screws in. I went online at my library and found diagram at this location. http://content.chiltonsonline.com/Repair/PrintView.aspx.